Day 81/365: Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton is a name that is not a stranger in the fashion industry, in fact its not a stranger to most people. The name Louis Vuitton is now a synonym for high quality fashion, mostly known for the handbags — although they also manufacture shoes and other items.>

Louis Vuitton first started in Paris, in the year of 1854 — and of course we all know since the start this company has become one of the world’s most famous makers of high quality luxury goods. When Louis Vuitton first started he made mostly luggage, and large trunks — he also made handbags mostly made out of leather.

Louis Vuitton luggage was a huge hit in the start of his career, and gave him enough business for the need to relocate, and he did so to the town of Asnieres in 1860.

In the year of 1885, Louis Vuitton expanded once again and opened up his first store in London. Louis Vuitton continued advancing his line and in 1888 he came out with the now signature Damier Pattern, which is a checkerboard of light and dark brown boxes, making a very classic and luxurious look. Soon afterwards, in the year of 1896, Louis Vuitton crafted now known as the classic line, the Monogram Canvas, that is also a icon for the Louis Vuitton brand today. The Monogram Canvas is the most popular selling canvas to this day.

The line was originally created in the 12 classic styles, and over time Louis Vuitton decided to add to the classic monogram canvas. In 1924 he added the Keepall and in three different sizes, and then again in 1932 he added the Noe handbag.

With Louis Vuitton selling such high end goods at such an high price, and much lower quality goods were readily available, you had to know some people were going to trade to cash in on that opportunity. Louis Vuitton is one of the most replicated designers, and while some say that is only the biggest compliment you can give someone, they don’t take it as so. Replica Louis Vuitton products are extremely common in the USA, and in fact if you live in a larger city, I’m sure you have seen them before.

These replica handbags are made out of poor quality materials, and they are sold for a fraction of the price, they should be very similar in design and some can be almost exact, however they are often much much more expensive.

When you think of the name Louis Vuitton, try to think of what comes to you in your mind. I bet it isn’t a picture of a robot that is battering bags all day to try and test them! Most likely, its a fairly racey ad with a supermodel hanging her tiny frame over some marvelous piece of luggage. But Louis Vuitton actually has a machine that spends all day testing the quality of their bags, how fast they wear and what to do to counter this wear. They are constantly working on improving the workmanship of their products!